A Fine And Private Place
by WolfBane2
Summary: Chapter Two: It is true that the Moon is an arrant thief, for amid other things, she had stolen him away. Rikuo
1. No Two Men Know

"Pay no mind to the faces they may wear, for they have none of their own. When the wind blows fortune, they have their uses. Still, ware them ever, trust them never, for they have no loyalty but to change."

She turns, and her smile is that of Aphrodite herself in its charm. And so tender. A throaty sound flows through the space in dripping hues of rose, winds itself around his ankles in warm, beseeching wafts. Love pools in seas of emerald, and he would promise her the world twice over, if only those reservoirs would remain in her eyes always.

_They were always so much greener than his own._

But truth's knight has charged too late. The enchantment is full now, and belief its tether. Eyes will behold what they will, and what they desire. What they desire above all else is beauty.

"So it is said of the Gemini."

And she is beautiful.

But it is time to go.

Licks of flame spread across those hallowed seas, fire prowling within a territory where fire has no right to be. Fury, desperation; they are mighty forces. The gentle rosen drafts frown, clamp; become shackles. But he is the Gemini, who has no form that can be chained as easily as that.

"Without wind, the fire withers away into ash. You would leave your own sister to die."

And for the first time, he is truly sorry.

She whirls in blind rage now, her sweetness lost as she dances to a mad, rhythmic fury all her own, except for when it is his. But even in her hatred, she is stunning. If he was of elsewhere, he would be unable to resist, would be spellbound by such anger turned to ballet by the air's quicksilver cat paws. "You are a thief, a liar, an illusion. Without your other half, what would you be but a mirage? We are siblings, you and I."

But he is not of elsewhere. He knows this hypnotism very well. It is the same mesmerizing green that lurks within his own eyes, the reason he so despises looking into mirrors. And having a twin is as good as having a mirror. Better.

He has already begun to fade.

Her voice rings with power; the voice of the High Priestess itself could not compare. "You will stay here, with me, brother. _Kazahaya_! You will _stay!" _

But the High Priestess holds no authority over those who are forever forsaking their past, who forget what is happening to them even now.

And he is gone.

_0o0o0o Gemini, follow through, Just a sign, it's only true 0o0o0o0o0o0o_

Author's Note: It is half past midnight. I have stared at this fic for exactly half an hour with the acute awareness that it's missing something terribly important, without being able to figure out exactly what that something is. Hence forth comes the fail-safe solution: Give up. In the great words of Snowball from Stuart Little: "Aw come on, giving up is fun, and look at how much time you save. I tell ya, if more people gave up, there'd be fewer wars." So I think I will continue this fic at a later point and time, probably doing a version for Rikuo and Tsukiko. In other words, kindly don't remark the terribly unfinished quality of this fic; it WILL be continued. Probably. Possibly. Hopefully. Once in a blue moon. Until then, attribute the incomplete quality of this chapter to that of the Gemini in general. And I didn't manage to put the pairing into this chapter of the fic (I tried, but it came out terribly, so I had to delete it), so let me state the absolute wonderfulness of Rikuo/Kazahaya. Just to make my point of view known (but how can you read Legal Drug and NOT adore Rikuo/Kazahaya?).


	2. Netting The Moon

It is only a distraction. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing at all.

He remembers what he is here for. He can never seem to recall how it was he got here, and he hasn't the faintest idea what he'll do once he finds her (because he WILL find her. There can be no question of that.), but…he is here. He is here to find Tsukiko.

Who is Tsukiko, you ask? He remembers who _she_ is. Even in those moments when he looks at the man in the mirror (is that really…? He doesn't picture himself with those cold eyes, cold as the sea because the sea is not malicious, it simply doesn't _care) _and he wonders who this stranger is, this stranger that changes and whose shoulders slump with the burden of a thousand roads that eventually all lead to nowhere again and again…he is not this person. He has not changed.

Tsukiko is beautiful. He would doubt his own face (perhaps he already does) before he would doubt _hers. _Tsukiko is the moon, distant and divine and always slipping from between his fingers like a reflection on raindrops, guiding his way to paradise. Or to nowhere. (she always told him he was a fool, and her laughter would pitter down onto his ears like silver moondrops falling) Her hair is the color of the Wolf That Ate The Sun, that nameless, timeless color that swallows the stars each night to clear the path for its mistress. Her skin radiates borrowed, brilliant moonshine; moon or girl, she is beautiful in anything she wears, and sometimes her eyes flicker hazel and she stares up at him with puzzled annoyance as he reads the paper at breakfast and she hums tunelessly as she restocks the store shelves in quick little jolts of fluid movement like a cat-

No.

_No. _

"_Guarding the obvious way out isn't any good, Rikuo, even if you do it to try and protect me. What would happen if I were to slip out the back door?"_

He gazes out the window, eyes frantically searching as the stars prance around him in a circle, their mocking laughter cruel as a child's, cruel as the sea that doesn't care.

There is no moon out tonight.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. But the one he speaks to is laughing somewhere on the far side of the moon.

_0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o_

Author's Note: Hope you caught the Rikuo/Kazahaya references. Personally, I think Tsukiko's dead. But as I have no evidence to prove that, I tried to avoid directly saying it here in this fic. The ending was a bit abrupt, I know. But I thought that if I wrote him in waking up before he looked out the window, it'd drag on. So maybe he was asleep, maybe he was awake, maybe he is dreaming now. (wanders off to nag her friend to order Volume Three) Couldn't think of a good ending-border phrase, so I just left it blank.


End file.
